Cry to Me

10.

The next morning she was in the cafeteria trying to eat breakfast, but she found herself constantly glancing at the entrance waiting for one of the officers to come tell her she would have to leave. Only Charlie was sitting with her as David had once again been gone by the time she had woken up. With no news, she gave up on her breakfast and decided to go for a walk around the base to try and relieve some of her anxiety. Sometime after she began walking around, a uniformed officer approached her.

Officer: You are required to appear in conference room two at five PM tonight for your next assignment.

The uniformed man left and she stared absent-mindedly after him for a few minutes. Only when one of the other survivors accidentally ran into her arm did she realize she was still standing in the middle of one of the hallways. She went back and found Charlie.

Taylor: Did they talk to you too?

Charlie: No, not yet. What did they say?

Taylor: I have to report somewhere at five tonight.

After the words sank in, they started walking together.

Charlie: At least they gave you warning this time.

Taylor: Yeah, like that makes it any better. I think that means we're getting separate assignments then, right?

Charlie: We survived together the last two times – shouldn't that tell them we work well together? That we'll actually survive?

Taylor shrugged her shoulders as they continued walking. She could tell by the way he kept glancing at her that he wanted to say something else, but every time he seemed ready to speak, he backed out at the last second and instead looked forward again. They walked aimlessly for the next few hours around the base, Taylor keeping her eye out for David. She wanted to see him before she left so she could say goodbye. She was determined to wait as long as she could to try and catch him, but he still had not returned by the time she had to leave. Saying a quick goodbye to Charlie, she made her way to the conference room.

When she arrived in conference room two, she was not the only one there. Seven other people were waiting anxiously, and looked at her as she entered the room. She was directed to a seat with a beige envelope on the desk, her first initial and last name printed on it. A guard was standing by one of the doors, and another woman soon entered the room.

Woman: I am Commander Levine, and I am in charge of on-base recruitment. I would firstly like to thank you all for your service. For your next assignment, you will be remaining on the base and each of you will be fulfilling a unique and important role. The folders in front of you contain information about your individual assignments. You are advised to not share the details of your assignment with any of the residents of the base or each other – we view that as a breach of confidentiality and it is punishable as a criminal offence. After you have read the information given to you, you will meet with Officer Davies for exact details of your assignment. Now please open your envelopes.

Taylor pulled out a piece of official looking paper that was personalized to her. There were black capital letters in the middle of the page with her assigned role, which was titled "Information Liason" and would consist of "relaying documents, paper, and/or information between sectors – on base". She read this over several times, but she still could not figure out what she was looking at. When it was finally her turn to speak with Officer Davies, she had a confused look on her face.

Officer Davies: Last but not least! Thank you for waiting so patiently Officer Jones. I trust you looked inside your envelope?

Taylor nodded in response.